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Sept. 17, 1929. F. E. BESSEE ADVERTISING DEVICE Filed June 1a, 1928 Patented Sept. 17, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE FRANK E. BESSEE, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFQRHIA, ASSIGNOR TO MIGDONALD SECURI- TIES (10., LTD., F LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, A CORPORATION OF NEVADA ADVERTISING DEVICE Application filed June 18,

This invention relates to advertising devices of the type disclosed in Patent No. 1,641;

684 granted to William H. McDonald and Frank E. Bessee and dated September 6, 1927. In this type of advertising device a solenoid coil is employed which controls the movements of a core, the said core being provided with means for periodically rotating a drum carrying the advertising cards. When the circuit is closed through the solenoid coil, the movement of the core actuates the advertising drum; the return movement or outwart movement of the core with respect to the coil is retarded or dampened by means of a dash pot and during this return movement the lamps which illuminate the advertising card carried by the drum are turned on.

The general object of this invention is to improve the general construction of advertising devices of this type and particularly to provide an improved construction for the contacts which will give an efficient operation of the solenoid with a quick break at the contacts; also to construct the parts in such a way as to prevent sparking when the solenoid circuit is broken.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved connection between the solenoid core and the dash pot which will provide a cushioning effect and render the movement of the device substantially noiseless.

and combination of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an eiiicient advertising device.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

1928. Serial No. 286,352.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through an advertising device embodying my invention, certain parts being broken away and shown in elevation.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken about on the line 2-2' of Figure 1, and further illustrating details of the contact mechanism for controlling the operation of the solenoid.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken about on the line 33 of Figure 1 and looking in an upward direction.

Figure 4 is a detail section taken about on the line %4 of Figure 3 looking in the direction of the arrows and particularly illustrating details in the mode of operation of the contact device which enables it to break the solenoid circuit without sparking.

Figure 5 is a diagram of the circuits through the advertising device.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents a casing of box form which has an opening 2 at its forward side opposite to which there is located a drum 3 carrying advertising cards 4: which are displayed in succession as the drum is rotated through the action of the solenoid mechanism 5. This mechanism includes a ratchet Wheel 6 on the drum and an actuating pawl 7 included in the solenoid mechanism, a detent pawl 8 being provided to prevent backward movement of the advertising drum. The solenoid mechanism is mounted on an insulating plate 9 in the casing 1 and includes a solenoid coil 10 through the lower end of which a laminated core 11 reciprocates. When the current is flowing through the coil 10, the core 11 is pulled upwardly, after which the switch mechanism operates automatically to open the circuit through the coil and permit the core todescend by gravity. The downward movement of the core is checked or dampened by means of adash pot 12 including a barrel 13 within whichreciprocates a tubular plunger 14, the upper end of the plunger being formed into a head 15 which is connected to the lower end ofthe core 11.

It will facilitate the disclosure of the invention to refer now to the diagram, Figure 5. The switch for controlling the action of the solenoid includes upper contact means 16 and lower contact means 17. The upper contact means includes two oppositely disposed contacts 18 and 19. When the switch is closed through the solenoid, contacts 18 and 19 are bridged so that current flows in from the binding post 20 through a conductor 21 to the upper contact 18 and thence from contact 19 through a conductor 22 through the solenoid coil 10 and through conductor 23 and con ductor 24 to the other binding post 2' l/Vhen the switch lever is in the other position, the lower contacts 26 and 27 are bridged so that current flows from the conductor 21 through contacts 26, 27 and through conductor 28 through lamps 29 which are in parallel, and thence by a short conductor 30 to conductor 24. In the operation of the device the solenoid circuit is periodically closed through the solenoid coil and broken almost instantly, and a circuit immediately established through the contacts 26 and 27 and tln'ough the lamps. During most of the time the circuit is closed through the lamps.

In order to accomplish this, I provide a switch lever 31 which is mounted so as to reciprocate with the core 11 and this trigger is movably mounted so that after forming contact with the upper or lower contacts, the movement of the core 11 eventually effects the breaking of the contact by means of the trigger and opens the circuit. In other words the movement of the core which is produced through the agency of the switch lever 31 eventually effects the throwing of the switch to its other position.

The barrel 13 is rigidly secured to the plate 9 by a bracket 32 (see Fig. 1). In order to carry the switch lever 31 and at the same time guide the plunger 1%, I provide the head 15 of the plunger with a guide bar which extends longitudinally with. the plun and is guided to slide in an angular slo i Fig. in the side of the barrel. llear lower end of this guide bar the switch 31 is mounted on a pivot pin I provide means associated with the trigger or switch lever 31 to throw it quickly over to the op-- posite contact when the core reaches the limit of its movement in each direction. For t purpose I provide a small leaf spring 36 secured on the outer side of the guide bar and the end of this s ;)ring thrusts into a notch 37 on the side of the head of the switch lever. As the core 11 moves upwardly under the influence of the magnetic force exerted by the coil, the pivot point of the switch lever rises until a point is reached when the slot or notch 37 moves to the left sufliciently to enable the thrust of the spring 36 to be exerted on a line passing to the left of the pin 35. lVhen this ojccursthe spring suddenly shoves the switch lever 31 downwardly and out of contact with the upper contacts 1, breaking the circuit through the contact 18,

and at the bottom of its swing bridging the contacts 26 and 27. This breaks the circuit through the solenoid and closes the circuit through the lamps. In Figure 1 in dotted lines the switch lever 31 is shown in a position such as it assumes just before it releases itself from the upper contacts. Breaking the ircuit through the contacts 18 and 19 opens the solenoid circuit so as to permit the core 11 to descend by gravity and as this descent continues, the lighting circuit through the contacts 26 and 27 is maintained by the switch lever 31. In connection with this switch lever it should be understood that the body of the lever is of fiber or other insulating material and the lever is provided with a metallic sheath 31" to engage the contacts. The switch lever is of the knife form, but tapers toward its upper edge and toward its lower edge so as to facilitate its passing between the diverging lips of the opposite contacts with which it cooperates.

In order to prevent sparking, I provide means whereby during the upward mm'ement of the core 11 a circuit will be established near the limit of the upward movement and passing through a resistance. After this circuit is established, the contacts cooperate so as break the circuit through the solenoid coil and therefore when the switch lever 3.1 pulls itself away from the upper contacts there is a relatively low current flowing due to the high resistance, thereby avoidirg the making of a spark. In order to are: nplish this, I provide an auxiliary contact 38 which is located alongside of the contact 19 but a little beyond it (see Fi "lhe lower edges of the contacts 19 and '8 extend along an arc (see that as the switch lever or trigger around the limit of the upward it the core, its downwardly tipped lower end will break engagentient with the contact 19 after first making engagement with the contact 38. In other words near the limit of its movement with the upwardly moving core, a circuit is established through the contact- 38 and a resistance 39 in a branch circuit 1-0 which connects with the conductor 22 leading through the coil. By reason of this high resistance a normal current of three amperes through the main solenoid circuit can be cut down to half an ampere when the branch solenoid circuit is substituted for the first established solenoid circuit. This will avoid sparking.

After the switch lever 31 has been swung over by the spring to bridge the lower contacts 26 and 27, the lamps 29 will be turned on and during this time the core 11 and the plunger 14 gradually descend by gravity. In this connection it should be understood that a fluid of any suitable kind is employed in the chamber 11 at the lower end of the barrel 13 and as the plunger descends this fluid flows through a bleeder valve in the lower end of lower end.

the plunger including a port 42 and a needle valve 43 in the form of a stem which extends upwardly within the plunger. This bleeder valve may be closed more or less so as to operate as a regulating valve to regulate the flow of the fluid and thereby regulate the period of time spent in illuminating the displayed advertising card or cards. The lower end of the plunger 14 is also provided with valve ports 44 cooperating with a ring valve 45. This valve opens freely when the core 11 is being pulled up by the coil but closes on the downstroke so that the only outlet of the liquid from the chamber 41 on the downstroke is through the bleeder port 42.

At the limit of the downstroke of the plunger the spring 36 performs a function similar to that disclosed in connection with the reversing of the direction of movement of the plunger at the end of the upstroke. In other words as the plunger descends the pivot 35 of the switch lever 31 will finally arrive at a point where the notch 37 will deliver the thrust of the spring 36 aleng a line passing on the right of the pin 35; when this occurs the spring suddenly releases the switch lever from the lower contacts 26 and 27 and swings it up into engagement with the upper contacts. It should be noted that in bridging the contacts and in cooperating with them, the movement of the switch lever 31 simulates somewhat the action of a bread knife in cutting bread. In other words the switch lever rocks on the contacts and pulls slightly longitudinally of them. This produces a desirable rubhing action which keeps the parts bright and clean and thereby improves their conductivity in contact.

In order to raise or lower the valve stem 43 of the bleeder valve, I provide a regulating screw 46 (see Fig. 1) which is mounted in an inclined position in the head of the plungplunger. The upper end of the stem 43 is pivotally attached to this shoe. By rotating the adjusting screw 46 with a screw drive the shoe 48 can be raised or lowered and this will lift the conical point of the stem 43 or lower the same as desired.

If desired the lead-in wires 50 which conneat to the binding post and may pass through a pair of fuses 51.

In order to provide a cushioned connection between the lower end of the core 11 and the head 15 of the plunger 14, I provide the lower end of the core with a short tang or stem. 53 which is threaded to receive a nut 54 on its This stem is surrounded by a bushing 55 of soft rubber or other cushionthe stem 53 which is rigid with the core 11 is yieldably held and cushioned.

The mode of operation of the apparatus will now be briefly described. The position of the plunger shown in Figure 1 is that which occurs during the instant that the lever 31 has been swung up to bridge the contacts 18 and 19. As this point in the cycle of operation occurs a solenoid circuit is established at contact 19 through conductor 22 and the solenoid 10, and through conductor 24. This en- 'ergizes the solenoid which immediately attracts the core 11 thereby pulling up the plunger. As the plunger reaches the limit of its upward movement, the switch lever 31 rocks and wipes itself across the contacts 18 and 19 eventually engaging the contact 38 so as to close the branch circuit through the resistance 39 and the conductor 40 and thence through the solenoid. Soon after this circuit is established, the plunger will arrive at a point such that the spring 36 will exert its thrust along the line passing to the left of the pivot 35. This will swing the switch lever 31 downwardly and break the solenoid circuit, bringing the switch lever into engagement with the contacts 26 and 27, thereby closing the lamp circuit through the conductor 28, lamp 29 and conductors 30 and 24. l/Vhile the current is turned on in the lamps in this way the plunger gradually descends by gravity, the speed of its movement being regulated through the medium of the adjusting screw 46. At the limit of the downward movement of the plunger the spring 36 will eventually exert its thrust along the line passing to the right of the pivot 35 of the lever 31 and this will swing'the lever 31 upwardly to the point indicated in Figure 1, breaking the circuit through the lamps. The operation of the device is such that the time spent in pulling up the plunger by the coil and releasing it for descent occupies only a fraction of a second so that the useful part of the periodical movement is large, and hence the display device is constantly displaying an illuminated advertising card.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein is only one of the many embodiments this invention maytake, and I do not wish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in the claims, to the particular embodiment set forth.

I claim: i

1. In an advertising device, the combination of a movable carrier, a plurality of advertising cards carried thereby, a lamp for illuminating the same, a solenoid coil, a core for the same, a dash-pot connected with the core for retarding the movement of the core in one direction, a contact trigger having a pivotal support reciprocating with the core, a relatively fixed contact means to cooperate with the trigger to close a circuit through the coil when the core is moving in one direction,

a relatively fixed contact means to cooperate with the contact trigger to close the circuit through the lamp when the core is moving in the other direction, and means asssociated with the trigger to cause the same to break contact at one of said contact means and close contact with the other contact means towrc the end of the stroke of the core in each direction.

2. In an advertising device, the combination or" a movable carrier, a plurality of advertising cards carried thereby, a lamp tor illuminating the same, a solenoid coil, a core for the same, a dash-pot connected with the core for retarding the movement of the core in one direction, a contact trigger having a pivotal support reciprocating with the core, a. relatively fixed contact means to cooperate with the trigger to close a circuit through the coil when the core is moving in one direction, a relatively fixed contact means to cooperate with the contact trigger to close the circuit through the lamp when the core is moving in the other direction, and a spring exerting its force on the trigger in a direction to cause the same to break contact with one of said contactmeans and close contact with the other contact means toward the end of the stroke of the core in each direction.

3. In an advertising device, the combination of a movable carrier, a plurality of advertising cards carried thereby, a lamp for illuminating the same, a solenoid coil, a core for the same, a dash-pot connected with the core for retarding the movement of the core in one direction, a contact trigger having a pivotal support reciprocating with the core, a relatively fixed contact means to cooperate with the trigger to close a circuit through the coil when the core is moving in one direction, a relatively fixed contact means to cooperatewith the contact trigger to close the circuit through the lamp when the core is moving in the other direction, a resistance in a branch conductor connected with the. circuit through the solenoid, one of said contact means having a contact connected with the said resist ance and cooperating with the said tri er to break contact with the same at the rcsis Contact, and means associated with the tr ger to cause the same to break 1 the and close Contact alternately between the said contact means toward the end of the stroke of the core as the same reciprocate-s.

4. In an advertising device, the combination of a movable carrier. a plurality of advertising cards carried thereby, a lamp for illuminating the same, a solenoid coil, a core for the same, a dash-pot connected with the core for retarding the movement of the core in one direction, a contact trigger having a pivotal support reciprocating with the core,

a circuit passing through the solenoid coil,

contact means connected with the circuit and including an auxiliar contact member distinct from the rest or the contact means, a branch conductor connected with the auxiliary contact and having a resistance connected therewith in parallel with the solenoid circuit, a second relatively fixed contact means to cooperate with the contact trigger to close the circuit through the lamp, and means associated with the trigger to cause the same to break contact at one of said contact means and close contact at the other contact means toward the end of the stroke of the core in each direction, said trigger cooperating with the first named contact means to make contact with the said auxiliary contact, and to break the contact at the said auxiliary contact when the trigger swings away from the same.

In an advertising device, the combination of a movable carrier, a plurality of adv rtisir cards carried thereby, a solenoid coil an circuit therefor, a core for the solenoid, int-ans actuated by the core for advancing the movable carrier to display the cards in succc sion, a contact trigger mounted to move with the solenoid core, relatively fixed contacts cooperating with the trigger to close a circuit through the solenoid periodically, a resistance in circuit between one of the rel: ely tired contacts and the solenoid, said l'lh' 'cl and said relatively fixed contacts cooperating first to maintain a circuit through the solenoid excluding the said resistance, thereatter to establish a circuit through the resistance, and then to break the circuit through the last named circuit through the resistance thereby preventing a spark when the solenoid circuit is broken.

6. In an advertising device, the combina tion of a movable carrier, a plurality of advertising cards carried thereby, a solenoid coil, 21 Contact trigger movably mounted so as to reciprocate with the said core, relatively fixed contact means, a circuit passing through the solenoid and the relatively fixed contact means having a branch circuit through the contact means with a resistance therein, said contact trigger and said contact means cooperating to cstah sh circuit throu h the solenoid. excluding the re ace, ti. rcai'ter establishing a circuit through the said branch circuit and passing through the resistance, and thereafter to break the solenoid circuit in the branch circuit. thereby avoiding sparkbetwcen the trigger and the contact means.

7. In an advertising device, the combination OI a solenoid coil, a core tor the same, a dash-pot tor dampening the movement of he core when the core is moving outwardly with respect to the coil, and a connection between the core and the dash-pot including a rigid member connected with the core and cushioning means connecting the said rigid somber with the dash-pot.

8. In an advertising device, the combinaill) tion of a solenoid coil, a core therefor, a dash-pot for dampening the movement of the core in one dlrection, and a connectlon between the core and the dash-pot including a part rigid with the core and cushioning means surrounding said rigid part and connecting the same to the dash-pot.

9. In an advertising device the combination of a solenoid coil, a core cooperating with the same, a dashpot having a head with a connection connecting it to the core for dampening the movement of the core outwardly in the coil, said dash-pot including a barrel and a plunger with a regulating valve between the same for controlling the flow of liquid through the plunger, said regulating valve including a port in the plunger and a stem for closing the same extending longitudinally of the plunger, and a regulating screw mounted in the head to one side of the said connection, and connected with the stem for moving the same relative to the port.

10. In an advertising device, the combination of a solenoid coil, a core to cooperate therewith, a dash-pot having a tubular plunger connected with the core and having a barrel in which the said plunger reciprocates, said plunger having a regulating port therein for controlling the flow of the liquid, a stem cooperating with the port and extend ing longitudinally within the tubular plunger, a shoe connected with the upper end of the stem within the tubular plunger, and a regulating screw mounted in an inclined position in the end of the plunger, having a threaded connection with the said shoe for raising and lowering the same to regulate the position of the stem with respect to said port.

11. In a device of the kind described, the combination of a solenoid coil, a core therefor, a circuit passing through the solenoid coil, contacts in the solenoid circuit, other contacts with another circuit including the same, a pivotally mounted switch lever mounted to reciprocate with the core and operating to engage either set of contacts to close the circuits, means cooperating with the switch lever to throw the same over from one set of contacts to the other at the limit of the movement of the core in either direction, and means for dampening the outward movement of the core.

Signed at Los Angeles, California, this 9th day of March, 1928,

FRANK E. BESSEE. 

